MusicMusic psychology, or the psychology of music, may be regarded as a
branch of both psychology and musicology. It aims to explain and
understand musical behavior and experience, including the processes
through which music is perceived, created, responded to, and
incorporated into everyday life.[1][2] Modern music psychology is
primarily empirical; its knowledge tends to advance on the basis of
interpretations of data collected by systematic observation of and
interaction with human participants.
MusicMusic psychology is a field of
research with practical relevance for many areas, including music
performance, composition, education, criticism, and therapy, as well
as investigations of human attitude, skill, performance, intelligence,
creativity, and social behavior.
MusicMusic psychology can shed light on non-psychological aspects of
musicology and musical practice. For example, it contributes to music
theory through investigations of the perception and computational
modelling of musical structures such as melody, harmony, tonality,
rhythm, meter, and form. Research in music history can benefit from
systematic study of the history of musical syntax, or from
psychological analyses of composers and compositions in relation to
perceptual, affective, and social responses to their music.
EthnomusicologyEthnomusicology can benefit from psychological approaches to the study
of music cognition in different cultures.

Contents

1 History

1.1 Early history (pre-1860)
1.2 Rise of empirical (1860–1960)
1.3 Modern (1960–present)

History[edit]
Early history (pre-1860)[edit]
The study of sound and musical phenomenon prior to the 19th century
was focused primarily on the mathematical modelling of pitch and
tone.[3] The earliest recorded experiments date from the 6th century
BCE, most notably in the work of
PythagorasPythagoras and his establishment of
the simple string length ratios that formed the consonances of the
octave. This view that sound and music could be understood from a
purely physical standpoint was echoed by such theorists as Anaxagoras
and Boethius. An important early dissenter was Aristoxenus, who
foreshadowed modern music psychology in his view that music could only
be understood through human perception and its relation to human
memory. Despite his views, the majority of musical education through
the
Middle AgesMiddle Ages and
RenaissanceRenaissance remained rooted in the Pythagorean
tradition, particularly through the quadrivium of astronomy, geometry,
arithmetic, and music.[3]
Research by
Vincenzo GalileiVincenzo Galilei (father of Galileo) demonstrated that,
when string length was held constant, varying its tension, thickness,
or composition could alter perceived pitch. From this he argued that
simple ratios were not enough to account for musical phenomenon and
that a perceptual approach was necessary. He also claimed that the
differences between various tuning systems were not perceivable, thus
the disputes were unnecessary. Study of topics including vibration,
consonance, the harmonic series, and resonance were furthered through
the scientific revolution, including work by Galileo, Kepler,
Mersenne, and Descartes. This included further speculation concerning
the nature of the sense organs and higher-order processes,
particularly by Savart, Helmholtz, and Koenig.[3]
Rise of empirical (1860–1960)[edit]

A brass, spherical
HelmholtzHelmholtz resonator based on his original design,
circa 1890-1900.

The latter 19th century saw the development of modern music psychology
alongside the emergence of a general empirical psychology, one which
passed through similar stages of development. The first was
structuralist psychology, led by Wilhelm Wundt, which sought to break
down experience into its smallest definable parts. This expanded upon
previous centuries of acoustic study, and included Helmholtz
developing the resonator to isolate and understand pure and complex
tones and their perception, the philosopher
Carl StumpfCarl Stumpf using church
organs and his own musical experience to explore timbre and absolute
pitch, and Wundt himself associating the experience of rhythm with
kinesthetic tension and relaxation.[4]
As structuralism gave way to
Gestalt psychologyGestalt psychology and behaviorism at the
turn of the century, music psychology moved beyond the study of
isolated tones and elements to the perception of their
inter-relationships and human reactions to them, though work
languished behind that of visual perception.[4] In Europe Géza
Révész and Albert Wellek developed a more complex understanding of
musical pitch, and in the US the focus shifted to that of music
education and the training and development of musical skill. Carl
Seashore led this work, producing his The Measurement of Musical
Talents and The
PsychologyPsychology of Musical Talent. Seashore used bespoke
equipment and standardized tests to measure how performance deviated
from indicated markings and how musical aptitude differed between
students.
Modern (1960–present)[edit]
MusicMusic psychology in the second half of the 20th century has expanded
to cover a wide array of theoretical and applied areas. From the 1960s
the field grew along with cognitive science, including such research
areas as music perception (particularly of pitch, rhythm, harmony, and
melody), musical development and aptitude, music performance, and
affective responses to music.[5]
This period has also seen the founding of music psychology-specific
journals, societies, conferences, research groups, centers, and
degrees, a trend that has brought research toward specific
applications for music education, performance, and therapy.[6] While
the techniques of cognitive psychology allowed for more objective
examinations of musical behavior and experience, the theoretical and
technological advancements of neuroscience have greatly shaped the
direction of music psychology into the 21st century.[7]
While the majority of music psychology research has focused on music
in a Western context, the field has expanded along with
ethnomusicology to examine how the perception and practice of music
differs between cultures.[8][9] It has also emerged into the public
sphere. In recent years several bestselling popular science books have
helped bring the field into public discussion, notably Daniel
Levitin's This Is Your Brain On
MusicMusic (2006) and The World in Six
Songs (2008), Oliver Sacks'
Musicophilia (2007), and Gary Marcus'
Guitar ZeroGuitar Zero (2012). In addition, the controversial "Mozart effect"
sparked lengthy debate among researchers, educators, politicians, and
the public regarding the relationship between classical music
listening, education, and intelligence.[10]
Research areas[edit]
PerceptionPerception and cognition[edit]
Much work within music psychology seeks to understand the cognitive
processes that support musical behaviors, including perception,
comprehension, memory, attention, and performance. Originally arising
in fields of psychoacoustics and sensation, cognitive theories of how
people understand music more recently encompass neuroscience,
cognitive science, music theory, music therapy, computer science,
psychology, philosophy, and linguistics.[11][12]
Affective response[edit]
Main article:
MusicMusic and emotion
MusicMusic has been shown to consistently elicit emotional responses in its
listeners, and this relationship between human affect and music has
been studied in depth.[13] This includes isolating which specific
features of a musical work or performance convey or elicit certain
reactions, the nature of the reactions themselves, and how
characteristics of the listener may determine which emotions are felt.
The field draws upon and has significant implications for such areas
as philosophy, musicology, and aesthetics, as well the acts of musical
composition and performance. The implications for casual listeners are
also great; research has shown that the pleasurable feelings
associated with emotional music are the result of dopamine release in
the striatum—the same anatomical areas that underpin the
anticipatory and rewarding aspects of drug addiction.[14]
Neuropsychology[edit]
Main article:
Cognitive neuroscienceCognitive neuroscience of music
A significant amount of research concerns brain-based mechanisms
involved in the cognitive processes underlying music perception and
performance. These behaviours include music listening, performing,
composing, reading, writing, and ancillary activities. It also is
increasingly concerned with the brain basis for musical aesthetics and
musical emotion. Scientists working in this field may have training in
cognitive neuroscience, neurology, neuroanatomy, psychology, music
theory, computer science, and other allied fields, and use such
techniques as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI),
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), magnetoencephalography (MEG),
electroencephalography (EEG), and positron emission tomography (PET).
The cognitive process of performing music requires the interaction of
neural mechanisms in both motor and auditory systems. Since every
action expressed in a performance produces a sound that influences
subsequent expression, this leads to impressive sensorimotor
interplay.[15]
Processing pitch[edit]

The primary auditory cortex is one of the main areas associated with
superior pitch resolution.

Perceived pitch typically depends on the fundamental frequency, though
the dependence could be mediated solely by the presence of harmonics
corresponding to that fundamental frequency. The perception of a pitch
without the corresponding fundamental frequency in the physical
stimulus is called the pitch of the missing fundamental.[16] Neurons
lateral to A1 in marmoset monkeys were found to be sensitive
specifically to the fundamental frequency of a complex tone,[17]
suggesting that pitch constancy may be enabled by such a neural
mechanism.
Pitch constancy refers to the ability to perceive pitch identity
across changes in acoustical properties, such as loudness, temporal
envelope, or timbre.[16] The importance of cortical regions lateral to
A1 for pitch coding is also supported by studies of human cortical
lesions and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the
brain.[18][19][20] These data suggest a hierarchical system for pitch
processing, with more abstract properties of sound stimulus processed
further along the processing pathways.
Absolute pitch[edit]
Main article: Absolute pitch
Absolute pitch (AP) is defined as the ability to identify the pitch of
a musical tone or to produce a musical tone at a given pitch without
the use of an external reference pitch.[21] Researchers estimate the
occurrence of AP to be 1 in 10,000 people.[22] The extent to which
this ability is innate or learned is debated, with evidence for both a
genetic basis and for a "critical period" in which the ability can be
learned, especially in conjunction with early musical
training.[23][24]
Processing rhythm[edit]
Behavioural studies demonstrate that rhythm and pitch can be perceived
separately,[25] but that they also interact[26] in creating a musical
perception. Studies of auditory rhythm discrimination and reproduction
in patients with brain injury have linked these functions to the
auditory regions of the temporal lobe, but have shown no consistent
localization or lateralization.[27][28][29] Neuropsychological and
neuroimaging studies have shown that the motor regions of the brain
contribute to both perception and production of rhythms.[30]
Even in studies where subjects only listen to rhythms, the basal
ganglia, cerebellum, dorsal premotor cortex (dPMC) and supplementary
motor area (SMA) are often implicated.[31][32][33] The analysis of
rhythm may depend on interactions between the auditory and motor
systems.
Neural correlates of musical training[edit]
Although auditory–motor interactions can be observed in people
without formal musical training, musicians are an excellent population
to study because of their long-established and rich associations
between auditory and motor systems. Musicians have been shown to have
anatomical adaptations that correlate with their training.[16] Some
neuroimaging studies have observed that musicians show lower levels of
activity in motor regions than non-musicians during the performance of
simple motor tasks, which may suggest a more efficient pattern of
neural recruitment.[34][35][36][37]
Motor imagery[edit]
Previous neuroimaging studies have consistently reported activity in
the SMA and premotor areas, as well as in auditory cortices, when
non-musicians imagine hearing musical excerpts.[16] Recruitment of the
SMA and premotor areas is also reported when musicians are asked to
imagine performing[37][38]

Deutsch's scale illusion: an auditory illusion in which two scales are
presented with successive tones alternating between each ear but are
perceived as simultaneous, unbroken scales.[39]

Psychoacoustics[edit]
Main article: Psychoacoustics
Further information:
Hearing (sense)Hearing (sense) and Auditory illusion
PsychoacousticsPsychoacoustics is the scientific study of sound perception. More
specifically, it is the branch of science studying the psychological
and physiological responses associated with sound (including speech
and music). Topics of study include perception of the pitch, timbre,
loudness and duration of musical sounds and the relevance of such
studies for music cognition or the perceived structure of music; and
auditory illusions and how humans localize sound, which can have
relevance for musical composition and the design of venues for music
performance.
PsychoacousticsPsychoacoustics is a branch of psychophysics.
Cognitive musicology[edit]
Main article: Cognitive musicology
Cognitive musicology is a branch of cognitive science concerned with
computationally modeling musical knowledge with the goal of
understanding both music and cognition.[40]
Cognitive musicology can be differentiated from the fields of music
cognition and cognitive neuroscience of music by a difference in
methodological emphasis.
Cognitive musicology uses computer modeling
to study music-related knowledge representation and has roots in
artificial intelligence and cognitive science. The use of computer
models provides an exacting, interactive medium in which to formulate
and test theories.[41]
This interdisciplinary field investigates topics such as the parallels
between language and music in the brain. Biologically inspired models
of computation are often included in research, such as neural networks
and evolutionary programs.[42] This field seeks to model how musical
knowledge is represented, stored, perceived, performed, and generated.
By using a well-structured computer environment, the systematic
structures of these cognitive phenomena can be investigated.[43]
Evolutionary musicology[edit]
Main article: Evolutionary musicology
Evolutionary musicology concerns the "origins of music, the question
of animal song, selection pressures underlying music evolution", and
"music evolution and human evolution".[44] It seeks to understand
music perception and activity in the context of evolutionary theory.
Charles DarwinCharles Darwin speculated that music may have held an adaptive
advantage and functioned as a protolanguage,[45] a view which has
spawned several competing theories of music evolution.[46][47][48] An
alternate view sees music as a by-product of linguistic evolution; a
type of "auditory cheesecake" that pleases the senses without
providing any adaptive function.[49] This view has been directly
countered by numerous music researchers.[50][51][52]
Cultural differences[edit]
Main article:
CultureCulture in music cognition
See also: Ethnomusicology
An individual's culture or ethnicity plays a role in their music
cognition, including their preferences, emotional reaction, and
musical memory. Musical preferences are biased toward culturally
familiar musical traditions beginning in infancy, and adults'
classification of the emotion of a musical piece depends on both
culturally specific and universal structural features.[53][54]
Additionally, individuals' musical memory abilities are greater for
culturally familiar music than for culturally unfamiliar
music.[55][56]
Applied research areas[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April
2014)

Many areas of music psychology research focus on the application of
music in everyday life as well as the practices and experiences of the
amateur and professional musician. Each topic may utilize knowledge
and techniques derived from one or more of the areas described above.
Such areas include:
MusicMusic in society[edit]
Including:

everyday music listening
musical rituals and gatherings (e.g. religious, festive, sporting,
political, etc.)
the role of music in forming personal and group identities
the relation between music and dancing
social influences on musical preference (peers, family, experts,
social background, etc.)

Musical preference[edit]
Main article:
PsychologyPsychology of music preference
Consumers' choices in music have been studied as they relate to the
Big Five personality traits: openness to experience, agreeableness,
extraversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness. In general, the
plasticity traits (openness to experience and extraversion) affect
music preference more than the stability traits (agreeableness,
neuroticism, and conscientiousness).[57] Gender has been shown to
influence preference, with men choosing music for primarily cognitive
reasons and women for emotional reasons.[58] Relationships with music
preference have also been found with mood[59] and nostalgic
association.[60]
Background music[edit]
Main article: Background music
The study of background music focuses on the impact of music with
non-musical tasks, including changes in behavior in the presence of
different types, settings, or styles of music.[61] In laboratory
settings, music can affect performance on cognitive tasks (memory,
attention, and comprehension), both positively and negatively. Used
extensively as an advertising aid, music may also affect marketing
strategies, ad comprehension, and consumer choices. Background music
can influence learning,[62][63] working memory and recall,[64][65]
performance while working on tests,[66][67] and attention in cognitive
monitoring tasks.[68][69]
Background music can also be used as a way
to relieve boredom, create positive moods, and maintain a private
space.[70]
Background music has been shown to put a restless mind at
ease by presenting the listener with various melodies and tones.[70]
MusicMusic in marketing[edit]
Main article:
Background music §
MusicMusic in marketing
In both radio and television advertisements, music plays an integral
role in content recall,[71][72][73] intentions to buy the product, and
attitudes toward the advertisement and brand itself.[74][75][76]
Music's effect on marketing has been studied in radio ads,[73][75][76]
TV ads,[71][72][74] and physical retail settings.[77][78]
One of the most important aspects of an advertisement's music is the
"musical fit", or the degree of congruity between cues in the ad and
song content.[79] Advertisements and music can be congruous or
incongruous for both lyrical and instrumental music. The timbre,
tempo, lyrics, genre, mood, as well as any positive or negative
associations elicited by certain music should fit the nature of the
advertisement and product.[79]
MusicMusic education[edit]

A primary focus of music psychology research concerns how best to
teach music and the effects this has on childhood development.

Including:

optimizing music education
development of musical behaviors and abilities throughout the lifespan
the specific skills and processes involved in learning a musical
instrument or singing
activities and practices within a music school
individual versus group learning of a musical instrument
the effects of musical education on intelligence
optimizing practice

Musical aptitude[edit]
Musical aptitude refers to a person's innate ability to acquire skills
and knowledge required for musical activity, and may influence the
speed at which learning can take place and the level that may be
achieved. Study in this area focuses on whether aptitude can be broken
into subsets or represented as a single construct, whether aptitude
can be measured prior to significant achievement, whether high
aptitude can predict achievement, to what extent aptitude is
inherited, and what implications questions of aptitude have on
educational principles.[80]
It is an issue closely related to that of intelligence and IQ, and was
pioneered by the work of Carl Seashore. While early tests of aptitude,
such as Seashore's The Measurement of Musical Talent, sought to
measure innate musical talent through discrimination tests of pitch,
interval, rhythm, consonance, memory, etc., later research found these
approaches to have little predictive power and to be influenced
greatly by the test-taker's mood, motivation, confidence, fatigue, and
boredom when taking the test.[80]
MusicMusic performance[edit]
See also:
PerformancePerformance science
Including:

the physiology of performance
music reading and sight-reading, including eye movement
performing from memory and music-related memory
acts of improvisation and composition
flow experiences
the interpersonal/social aspects of group performance
music performance quality evaluation by an audience or evaluator(s)
(e.g. audition or competition), including:

influence of musical and non-musical factors
the audience's positive evaluation shift as a result of an
audio-visual presentation mode[81]

the effectiveness of music in healthcare and therapeutic settings
music-specific disorders
musicians' physical and mental health and well-being
music performance anxiety (MPA, or stage fright)
motivation, burnout, and depression among musicians
noise-induced hearing loss among musicians

MusicMusic and audio engineering[edit]
Gestalt theory is also used as a perceptual model to discuss the
psychophysical impressions established by those who mix audio (i.e.,
mix engineers). As with other design-based activities, such as
user-interface design, Gestalt constructions provide a useful guide
for creative technologists.[82]
Journals[edit]
MusicMusic psychology journals include:

MusicMusic psychologists also publish in a wide range of mainstream
musicology, music theory/analysis, psychology, music education, music
therapy, music medicine, and systematic musicology journals. The
latter include for example:

Centers of research and teaching[edit]
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Argentina:

National University of La Plata

Australia:

Music,
SoundSound and
PerformancePerformance Lab, Macquarie University[85]
Music, Mind and Wellbeing Initiative, Melbourne University[86]
Empirical
MusicologyMusicology Group, University of New South Wales[87]
ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotion, University of
Western Australia[88]
The MARCS Institute, University of Western Sydney[89]

Austria:

Centre for Systematic Musicology, University of Graz[90]
Cognitive
PsychologyPsychology Unit, University of Klagenfurt[91]

Centre for
MusicMusic and Science, Cambridge University[118]
MusicMusic and the Human Sciences Group, University of Edinburgh[119]
Centre for
PsychologicalPsychological Research, Keele University[120]
MusicMusic and Science Lab, Durham University[121]
Interdisciplinary Centre for Scientific Research in Music, University
of Leeds[122]
SocialSocial and Applied
PsychologyPsychology Group, University of Leicester[123]
Music, Mind and Brain Group, Goldsmiths, University College
London[124]
International
MusicMusic Education Research Centre, UCL Institute of
Education, University College London[125]
MusicMusicCognitionCognition Lab, Queen Mary University of London[126]
Faculty of Music, University of Oxford[127]
Applied
MusicMusic Research Centre, University of Roehampton[128]
Centre for
PerformancePerformance Science, Royal College of Music[129]
Centre for
MusicMusicPerformancePerformance Research, Royal Northern College of
Music[130]
Department of Music, Sheffield University[131]